By Kezia Jungco
Publication Date: 2026-08-05 16:05:00
Perplexity’s AI shopping agent can remain on Amazon, at least for now. The ruling could also give other AI agents more room to shop, browse, and act on websites that would prefer to keep them out.
The decision does not end Amazon’s lawsuit, but its reasoning could influence future disputes over whether an AI agent acting for a person should be treated as the user or as an unauthorized third party.
The court lifts the block on Comet
The Ninth Circuit overturned an injunction issued by a California federal judge in March. The earlier order had temporarily prevented Perplexity from using Comet’s agentic shopping features on Amazon.
Amazon accused Perplexity of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by accessing its systems without authorization. The retailer also said Comet created security risks and disguised itself as a standard Chrome browser to avoid detection.
The appeals court found that Amazon was unlikely to succeed on its Computer Fraud and Abuse Act claim, Reuters reported.
Why Perplexity won the appeal
The dispute largely turned on who was accessing Amazon’s servers.
Comet can navigate Amazon and complete purchases when directed by a user. Because the agent operates under that person’s instructions, the court concluded that the user accessed Amazon’s systems, rather than Perplexity itself.
Engadget said that the court also found an injunction against conduct unlikely to violate federal or California computer-access laws would not serve the public…
